The Latest: Kowalke hopes for confirmation by GOP senators

Randall Kowalke, who was appointed by Gov. Bill Walker to fill an empty Alaska Senate seat, says he hopes to avoid a fight over his nomination and win confirmation.

In picking Kowalke, Walker bypassed a list of three finalists advanced by Republicans to replace former Sen. Mike Dunleavy of Wasilla, who resigned to run for governor.

Kowalke says there were issues with the party’s district-level selection process, which produced the list.

Kowalke says he has a bad history with one of the district leaders, whom he defeated for a seat on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly. Kowalke says he didn’t think he had a chance of making the list.

He says it’s his understanding that when Walker decided not to choose any of the three finalists, he interviewed everyone else who applied.

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4:50 p.m.

Gov. Bill Walker has appointed Randall Kowalke to the Alaska Senate seat vacated last month by Republican Mike Dunleavy of Wasilla.

In doing so, Walker strayed from a list of candidates advanced by district GOP leaders, drawing a rebuke from Alaska GOP chairman Tuckerman Babcock, who considered it an affront to the process.

Babcock says he has “no doubt” Senate Republicans will reject the appointment.

When there is a legislative vacancy, state law requires the person appointed be from the same party as the person who left. Traditionally, the parties send a list of names to the governor for consideration.

The governor isn’t bound to the list but the appointment is subject to confirmation, in this case, by Senate Republicans.